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“With your face, you don’t even need makeup. Who else can go on camera barefaced like you?” Xu Duo had worked with many female artists and understood well how different they looked before and after makeup.
Hearing the compliment, Su Ci’s lips curled. “No, lipstick still needs to be applied.”
“Sure, sure.” Xu Duo brought her to meet the director.
Even though Xu Duo had repeatedly guaranteed that the artist he recommended had outstanding looks, the director still hadn’t expected someone this outstanding.
He was extremely satisfied. Originally, he had planned to give the final entrance shot to the trending starlet, but now he felt that this guest named Su Ci could completely serve as the finale.
Su Ci was led to the lounge to sit. Several guests had already arrived.
When Su Ci entered, everyone looked toward her.
The other guests had already recorded three episodes together and were familiar with each other. But with a newcomer as pretty as Su Ci suddenly appearing, their eyes clearly showed amazement.
The first to speak was a male artist, he had debuted not long ago as part of a group. His appearance was fair and delicate, his fame not great, but he still had over a million fans. “You’re the new female guest today, right?”
Su Ci: “Yes, I’m Su Ci.”
“I’m Nan Yi.” The male artist had a cheerful personality and introduced himself proactively.
The other two were female guests. The one with a gentle, elegant appearance was Guan Jing, an internet celebrity.
And the one sitting beside her, with short hair, a delicate face, and a hint of androgyny, was Xie Yumin — currently merely a third-tier actress.
After exchanging introductions and greetings, Su Ci’s gaze fell on their wrists. She instantly knew her trip wasn’t in vain. Instead of waiting every day for Golden Cotton Candy to appear, she might as well take the initiative to seek it out.
This was one of the reasons she agreed to record the show.
Nan Yi’s life value had only three yellow blocks left, meaning he still had more than thirty years. Guan Jing had more than fifty years. But the short-haired Xie Yumin’s life value was a red line — only three days.
Su Ci narrowed her eyes and called out Fugui. “How does Xie Yumin die?”
Fugui had gone too long without eating golden cotton candy. Seeing its master willing to save someone again, it was so excited its tiny baby voice trembled.
【Master, she’s cyberbullied and dies from taking an overdose of sleeping pills. You must work hard to save her, okay?】
Su Ci glanced again at Xie Yumin. Her expression was cool and aloof, not someone easy to provoke. She didn’t seem like the fragile type at all. What exactly had caused her to be cyberbullied?
Just as Su Ci was about to search online for information about her, a staff member entered to announce that the recording was beginning and the trending starlet had also arrived.
The program team had set up a spacious food livestream room. In the center was a long white dining table, and at each guest’s seat sat a small hot pot.
It looked like today’s food theme was hot pot.
Su Ci sat down beside Xie Yumin, with Guan Jing and Nan Yi across from her.
The host of the show was the director himself. He sat at one end of the long table. “This episode, we’re all in for a treat.”
Nan Yi smiled. “Hot pot is my favorite.”
“Then eat more later. Our program team guarantees you won’t go hungry.” The director laughed.
As the trending starlet walked in, she said, “Sorry, Director, I’m late.”
Hearing the familiar voice, Su Ci lifted her head — walking in was Qin Shiyan. She was the trending starlet.
“It’s fine. Xiao Yan, you’ve been very busy lately, haven’t you? Just treat today’s recording as a chance to relax.” The director spoke to the starlet politely. Among the five guests, she was the most famous and had the largest fandom.
Qin Shiyan sat down with a smile and the moment she took her seat, she was stunned to find Su Ci beside her!
“Cici!” Qin Shiyan swallowed back the scream she almost let out. She called Su Ci’s name in a controlled yet flustered voice. “Cici, why are you here?”
The director was a bit surprised. “You two know each other?” This newcomer named Su Ci, Qin Shiyan actually knew her?
“We know each other.” Before understanding what was going on, Qin Shiyan didn’t want to reveal too much. Why had Su Ci suddenly come to record a program? Did the Su family know?
“Cici, how did you end up here?” Qin Shiyan lowered her voice and asked again.
“Someone invited me, so I came.” Su Ci could see the nervousness in Qin Shiyan’s eyes, so she asked bluntly, “What, I’m not allowed to record a show?”
“No.” Qin Shiyan hurriedly denied it. “It’s just that you used to look down on artists in the entertainment industry. I didn’t expect you to…”
When she entered the entertainment industry back then, Su Ci had mocked her. Now Su Ci suddenly coming to record a show, what did that mean? Was she slapping her own face?
Qin Shiyan felt unhappy, but even more than that, she felt an overwhelming sense of crisis.
Su Ci was too beautiful. If she entered the industry — plus the backing of the Su family — if she didn’t become popular, who would?
Qin Shiyan felt extremely uncomfortable. Why should the things she worked so hard for be things Su Ci could obtain effortlessly… and even disdainfully?
Su Ci glanced at her. “I lost my memory, so whatever I said before doesn’t count.”
Qin Shiyan: “……”
Qin Shiyan still wanted to speak, but at that moment the director announced the start of the livestream.
The director introduced each guest to the viewers, and as he introduced them, the camera moved to their faces.
When he introduced the male guest Nan Yi, the live comments kept popping up.
As a trending starlet, Qin Shiyan’s company valued both her looks and her abilities — and also her connection to the Su family. The resources given to her were excellent. Within just half a year of debuting, she already had over five million fans.
When the camera shifted to Qin Shiyan, the comments on the screen exploded even more.
“Here she is, here she is — Qin Shiyan is so pretty.”
“Reporting in for Smile-Yan. Xiao Yan is too beautiful.”
“Here just to watch Xiao Yan eat. She’s too skinny, needs to eat more.”
“Does the livestream camera have a beauty filter on? Why is Shiyan this gorgeous? She’s stunning.”
“I’m watching this food livestream only because of Xiao Yan. Don’t know the others.”
“As expected of the most beautiful flower in the entertainment industry. No one can compare. Shiyan is so lovely. That ‘once-in-a-century beauty’ title is well-deserved. Xiao Yan must eat a lot later — she’s gotten thinner from all the work.”
“Program team, hurry up and serve the food! I want to see Shiyan eating. It’ll definitely be adorable.”
The director continued, “Next, our other new guest is Su Ci. Let’s give her a warm welcome.”
The camera, which had been focused on Qin Shiyan, immediately shifted beside her — landing on Su Ci.
In the shot, Su Ci was unbelievably beautiful. She didn’t have even the slightest problem of “looking heavier on camera.”
“Is this a newcomer? Never seen her before. She’s so pretty.”
“Wtf, why does it look like the camera turns on a beauty filter the moment it hits this girl? Did she pay money for this?”
“God… what kind of legendary beauty is this? That face looks like it must be surgically made.”
“Fans who were bragging that Qin Shiyan is the unrivaled beauty of the industry — come out here and get slapped.”
“I thought Qin Shiyan was quite beautiful just now, but looking at this guest… this is what a real beauty crit looks like.”
“Don’t compare our natural Xiao Yan to some plastic surgery girl who popped out of nowhere, okay?”
“Xiao Yan’s background is extraordinary. Her aura is way better than this so-called Su Ci.”
While the viewers buzzed nonstop, the staff brought in dish after dish.
Each plate was placed before the guests.
The director announced, “Today, we’re having rabbit hotpot.”
Su Ci froze.
Then she saw the dishes being brought in: spicy rabbit heads, braised rabbit meat, rabbit-and-radish stew, diced rabbit, stir-fried rabbit, several plates of raw sliced rabbit for cooking, and other side dishes.
Su Ci pressed her lips together and looked at the director in disbelief. She strongly suspected the director had some deep blood feud with rabbits, why else would he serve a full rabbit feast?
“No wonder the director said we’re in for a treat today. Rabbit meat is delicious.” Nan Yi laughed cheerfully, though his complexion was so pale it made him look slightly sickly. “Then I won’t hold back.”
The director was also a foodie. One reason he created this show was because he loved to eat. “Hurry and try it. The chef today is excellent at cooking rabbit.”
“It looks delicious.” Guan Jing smiled gently and began eating.
Don’t be fooled by her demure appearance. In the past three episodes, aside from Nan Yi, she was the one who ate the most. As a result, she often got more camera time than the other guests.
Xie Yumin didn’t talk much either; she picked up her chopsticks and started eating.
In food shows, viewers loved watching celebrities enjoy their food with appetite. It made them hungry too. No one wanted to watch a star pretend to eat delicately, take tiny bites, or barely eat anything.
Qin Shiyan understood this perfectly, so she began eating as well.
“Ahhh Xiao Yan, eat more!!”
“I should NOT have watched this during a meal.”
“My instant noodles suddenly taste like nothing.”
“Qin Shiyan isn’t pretentious at all — she eats so well! The way she’s gnawing that spicy rabbit head looks exactly like me.”
“Nan Yi is eating so fast. Child, don’t rush. Don’t rush. The show said they’ll feed you well today.”
“Guan Jing is eating so deliciously. I saw her put so many pieces of rabbit meat into her pot.”
“Am I the only one noticing that Su Ci is just sitting still? Everyone else is enjoying the food, but she’s holding her chopsticks and not eating?”
“Su Ci probably doesn’t dare eat meat if she wants to maintain her figure. Not everyone is like Xiao Yan, blessed to eat without gaining weight.”
Su Ci didn’t know the viewers were constantly roasting her. Even though she had once threatened Lu Zhe — saying every time he hugged a rabbit, she would eat a spicy rabbit head — that was just talk.
As someone who was half a rabbit herself, how could she possibly eat rabbit meat?
Su Ci didn’t pick up any rabbit dishes. Instead, she grabbed some side vegetables and ate them in small bites.
Qin Shiyan, of course, noticed that Su Ci hadn’t eaten a single piece of rabbit. She swallowed the food in her mouth and proactively picked up a spicy rabbit head, placing it into Su Ci’s bowl. “Cici, this one tastes good. You should try it.”
Su Ci glanced at the bright red rabbit head in her bowl, suppressing her discomfort. She said, “I don’t eat rabbit meat.”
She set the bowl aside and changed to a new one.
Qin Shiyan froze for a moment, as if only realizing now, and followed her lead with an apologetic expression. “Sorry, I didn’t know you don’t like rabbit.”
Seeing Qin Shiyan thoughtfully serve food to Su Ci only to be “rudely” rejected, her fans immediately exploded in anger.
“This Su Ci is so pretentious I feel sick. Xiao Yan is too nice — just eat more yourself and ignore her.”
“Coming on a food show only to put on a ‘I don’t eat rabbit, I’m so kind’ act? Spare me.”
“Is it just me, or does the camera switch on a beauty filter only when it hits Su Ci’s face? Is her skin really that good?”
“Everyone else is enjoying the food so much, and this guest eats nothing. Hurry up and kick her out.”
Meanwhile, Lu Zhe had just gone with Boss Fang to look at potential office spaces. Knowing his son wanted to start a company and hadn’t found a location yet, Lu Chen immediately told his people to let his son choose freely from the Lu family’s properties.
Spaces that were previously impossible to even consider — places worth their weight in gold — were now easily available. Boss Fang felt as if he were dreaming. He couldn’t believe it.
Just earlier he had been worried that the lunatic from the He family would keep obstructing them. Now that they had the Lu family backing them, Boss Fang felt his spine straighten.
“Xiao Zhe, if you still have things to do, go ahead first.” Boss Fang noticed the youth looked distracted.
Lu Zhe nodded. “Then I’ll go ahead.”
As he walked out, he opened his phone. The moment he entered the livestream, he saw Su Ci expressionlessly eating green vegetables while the comment screen was filled with messages telling her to leave the show.
